Daredevil #12

It's Monday and I only have two comics left to read in my new comic pile... What that means is the next two nights will see me reviewing two books that I have very little interest in... But as always, I am the eternal optimist and am hoping one of these books(probably this one) gives me a pleasant surprise.

Daredevil #12:

Summary: Matt Murdock and Assistant DA Kristen McDuffie go out on a date. During it, Matt recounts an early meeting between himself and Foggy Nelson, basically explaining why Foggy has always remained loyal to Matt(basically Matt helped Foggy not get expelled from college due to a vengeful professor)... Yeah, there's an interesting date subject... As the date draws close to an end, Kristen and Matt prepare to get romantic, but are interrupted by a member of the Black Spectre organization. The Spectre basically tells Matt to hand over the Omega Drive to the Spectres or they'd make Matt's friends suffer the consequences.

Thoughts: Okay, I have to admit, I liked this comic. It was mainly a story about Matt and Foggy in college, but it worked. I can honestly say I haven't read very many(if any...) “DD in college” stories, so this issue was a treat. Add the ending and you have a good comic here. That's not to say this issue was without flaws, because it wasn't. For example, why would DD decide to go out on a date when he has several crime organizations gunning for him due to his holding the Omega Drive? Why not just paint a nice big target on Kristen's back? They're villains! Of course they're going to go after DD's friends to get what they want! Besides that, DD asked Spidey to keep an eye on things during his date and yet Spidey just sort of vanished when that Spectre taunted Matt, claiming Spidey had been, “diverted”... Nice work there, Web-Head... Overall though, I did enjoy this issue and look forward to seeing how the DD/Omega-Drive story ends up.

Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

Spidey still being hung up about the Black Cat thing is pretty funny stuff.

Teen Titans Annual #1

Okay, I'm back on my regular schedule tonight! Well, that's not exactly accurate as I actually typed this review up yesterday and set it to post now... But that's neither here nor there. What is here is the comic that I'm fairly certain I picked for my Runt of the Litter this week! That probably didn't need an exclamation point actually... Eh, anyway, I'm hoping this issue turns out better than I'm expecting, but I'm not holding my breath.

Teen Titans Annual #1:

Summary: You know what happens when two super-hero teams meet up for the first time, don't you? The Teen Titans and the Legion squad from the Legion Lost series have both been captured by Harvest for THE CULLING(!!!) which is now getting the over-the-top treatment since we STILL don't know what it's all about/why Harvest does it/how long it's been going on... Anyway, the Titans think the Legionaries are Ravagers for Harvest, while the Legionaries believe the same thing about the Titans. If you can't figure out what happens next, you REALLY need to read more comic books... After the obligatory super-hero misunderstanding© ends, Harvest sends his major troops out to... um, CULL(!!!) the two team, I guess.

Thoughts: Sarcasm aside, this wasn't a terrible comic book. To be honest, I was expecting way worse. Yeah sure, this NOWHERE/Harvest storyline has gone on way too long for my tastes(which seems to be a running theme regarding Scott Lobdell written comics), but this comic was just good, dumb fun. You really didn't need to think much while reading it, it was straightforward(or at least as straightforward as a Teen Titans comic has been post-reboot), and most importantly, Red Robin wasn't a half bird/half boy creature in this issue! Hey, I have to look for the good wherever I can find it!

Score: 6 out of 10.

Oh no, they're CULLING(!!!) each other!

Stormwatch #9

One more review for the night and then it'll be one review a day for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday since this was such a bizarrely quiet week for me comic-wise. But that's then, let's tackle the first DC book I read this week first.

Stormwatch #9:

Summary: This one opens with the Martian Manhunter, Jenny Quantum and Jack Hawksmoor dealing with someone named the Vitruvian Man. The trio manage to capture Vitruvian Man, but not before Vitruvian Man claims that he was once a member of Stormwatch way back when... From there we head to Apollo and Midnighter, who were sent to intercept a Red Lantern that had arrived on Earth. The Red Lantern manages to blind Apollo with it's blood-spit, but is defeated by Midnighter's power, which I understand to be the power of awesomeness... Okay, that's not really his power, but still, you could fool me... Midnighter and Apollo take the Red Lantern back to Stormwatch's headquarters so Engineer could try to figure out how the red ring worked. Unfortunately, the Vitruvian Man manages to get free of his bonds and flips out on the ship after telling his tale of woe(basically the secret masters of Stormwatch murdered his girlfriend after he refused to stop seeing her), which draws the Red Lantern ring towards the Vitruvian Man since he was filled with rage. Midnighter leaps into action and snaps the Vitruvian Man's neck(!) before the ring can reach him, at which time the ring turns it's attention to Midnighter(!!). Before the ring can reach Midnighter though, Engineer recaptures it, and Midnighter storms away. This issue ends with Midnighter pondering if he'd end up suffering the same fate as the Vitruvian Man if he started to enjoy his time on Stormwatch too much...

Thoughts: So this was Peter Milligan's first issue as the writer of this series. Now, I'll admit, I was a bit disturbed when I saw that he was bringing a Red Lantern into this series seeing as that I hate the concept of the Rainbow Corps... I get that Milligan is writing the Red Lantern book, but that doesn't mean I want Red Lanterns in this series... But you know what? Milligan didn't make this comic about that Red Lantern at all. He actually used it as a plot point to show that Midnighter was beginning to let his guard down around some of his teammates, especially Apollo. Plus, I'll admit, the prospect of Midnighter as a Red Lantern is kind of cool(so long as it doesn't last too long that is). Granted, I'm still not that fond of the whole, “Stormwatch has secret, uber-powerful masters.” deal, and I don't get why they'd care about the Vitruvian Man's love-life... Overall though? This was a solid first issue by Milligan, here's hoping he can keep up the good work.

Score: 8 out of 10.

Midnighter cutting off a Red Lantern's arm? Further proof of his awesomeness.

Amazing Spider-Man #685

Yep, this review is up WAY later than usual for me, but this is probably going to be the way things go from now on. Once I get more stable with my new work schedule, I'll probably put up a post detailing when I'll be posting and how often, but for now, my posting/commenting schedule may be a bit on the chaotic side... But hey, a late post is better than no post at all, I say!

Amazing Spider-Man #685:

Summary: Spidey, Black Widow and Silver Sable are still hitting Dr. Octopus's missile bases around the world, but are being forced to deal with the added difficulty of having SHIELD after them since Doc Ock has convinced the world HE'S the good guy and Spidey is the rogue villain. Even though all evidence suggests that Ock's satellite contraption would indeed end global warming forever, Spidey is steadfast in his belief that Ock is up to something more sinister... As for Ock, he's pleasantly surprised by how readily everybody seems to be accepting his plans for saving the Earth. Regardless, Ock sends out a call to other super-villains, telling them that if they could take Spidey out of the picture, he'd reward them with the same deal he managed to get for his Sinister Six members. Upon getting word of this, Spidey turns to the (very) few allies he still had that hadn't turned on him or been captured, asking them to try to take down Ock's additional forces. Eventually Spidey tracks down Ock's largest base(in Romania, near Symkaria) and figures he'd find Ock inside. Instead, he finds some video screens with Ock gloating that Spidey's best efforts had failed and Ock's satellites had been launched. Ock then reveals that Spidey was right all along, and that his satellites WERE going to be used for something sinister, as Ock couldn't bear the thought that regular people would continue living when he was dying. With that, Ock activates his satellites, which magnify the intensity of the suns rays, scorching the entire side of the planet facing the sun, ending this one.

Thoughts: Okay, that HAD to be a bad dream on Spidey's part, right? If it wasn't, that was one hell of a sweet swerve by Dan Slott! It's not often you see Spidey fail in the magnitude he failed here... Because Ock absolutely schooled not just Spidey, but the entire world. And the best part? Ock's reasoning was actually sound! Well, sound for a megalomaniac anyway... Ock wanting to destroy not just Spidey, but the world makes sense, since he has always seen himself as better than everybody else(which we got a glimpse of back in those Invincible Iron Man issues he popped up in), and was disgusted at the prospect of the world continuing without him... Now this? This is what you call a fantastic cliffhanger! I can't wait to see how Slott writes his way out of this mess!

Score: 8 1/2 out of 10.

Doc Ock moved up several places on my favorite villain list after THIS issue!

X-Factor #235

Last review of the night as I FLY through my new comic pile is X-Factor. Another one of the comics I'm always happy to get my hands on. Like I said on Wednesday, I ended up getting some damned good comics this week!

X-Factor #235:

Summary: With the wannabe heroes being murdered in Seattle, Madrox and Shatterstar(in disguises that wouldn't fool a three year old, including Shatterstar's old headgear!) head to Seattle and hook up with the band of Kick-Ass-esque heroes. Madrox and Star split up and go out on patrol with a different member of the wannabes, and Star's wannabe gets murdered by some big purple guy sporting a big gun and some blades. The big guy takes Star out with ONE kick(?!) and this issue ends with Star prone on the ground with the purple guy aiming his gun at Star. We also got Longshot lapsing into a coma-like state while trying to investigate the case and Madrox and Havok butting heads over the direction of X-Factor.

Thoughts: No real complaints here. This issue was a nice, fast read, made sense and is obviously leading us to our next big X-Factor storyline. Um, yeah... That's about all I have to say...

Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

I... am reviewing.

Venom #17

First up tonight is the latest issue of Venom. I've had a couple of my fellow comic fans tell me the last page of this issue is a shocker, so needless to say, I am thoroughly looking forward to getting there!

Venom #17:

Summary: We open with Flash lying to Dr. Pym in order to get the Venom symbiote delivered to him. You see, Flash wants to kill Crime-Master(and Jack O' Lantern) in order to save his family and friends from Crime-Master's threats. While Venom is swinging towards Crime-Master's headquarters though, he's being watched by Eddie Brock... Crime-Master invites the Human Fly into his office and offers him a spot on the team of villains Crime-Master was putting together. Outside, Venom has set up and was aiming a sniper rifle at Crime-Master when he is attacked by crazy Eddie. The fighting alerts Crime-Master to the assassination attempt, and Crime-Master sends his goons after Venom, nearly killing him before he manages to escape. However, Eddie didn't escape and ends up being captured by Crime-Master and his goons. This issue ends with Crime-Master opening a biohazard container holding a symbiote and bonding Eddie with a new symbiote(!).

Thoughts: Yup, that ending WAS awesome! The rest of this issue wasn't that bad, although non-powered Eddie Brock managing to follow Venom, with Venom never knowing, was a bit of a stretch for me... Same thing with Eddie stepping in JUST as Venom was about to assassinate Crime-Master. Yeah, I get that it's a work of fiction and all, but that's a lot of suspension of belief I'm being asked for! All in all, I thought this was ANOTHER good issue of this series, as usual.

Score: 7 1/2 out of 10.

Okay, the dude with Tetris powers? Awesomeness squared.

Invincible Iron Man #516

Well, after that first review of the night, this comic doesn't really have a lot to live up to...

Invincible Iron Man #516:

Summary: During a battle with Firebrand and Crimson Dynamo, Iron Man's armor gets shut down by Justine Hammer so she could have the villains defeated by her Detroit Steel Corps. The Avengers offer Tony some assistance with his recent string of troubles, but Tony refuses any help and takes a hiatus from the Avengers. Meanwhile, Ezekiel Stane shows off the death-machine he built for the Mandarin. The death-machine fails so Mandarin beats the hell out of Stane, while Stane is unable to move a muscle to defend himself. It's then that Stane realizes that the Mandarin had done something to his mind and he decides he was going to find out what that something was. We finally discover who Spymaster was masquerading as, Pim from Stark Resilient, who murders his lover on the orders of Justine Hammer, who had decided it was time for Spymaster to come out of hiding. This issue ends with Tony barging into General Babbage's office to inform Babbage that he had won and that Tony was going to quit being Iron Man.

Thoughts: This issue wasn't that bad. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. It was the definition of an okay comic. Tony quit being Iron Man, which puts the ball in the court of the Hammer girls and Babbage, Stane is trying to figure out a way to mutiny against the Mandarin after the beating he received, Spymaster was finally revealed, a lot happened to set up future events. I'm most curious to see where the whole, “Iron Man no more!” thing is going to go out of all the story elements Matt Fraction put into motion here. I mean we know Tony's still going to be doing the Iron Man thing, I'll be curious to see how he manages to hide it from the Hammers and Babbage.

Score: 7 out of 10.

Oh Mandarin... You so crazy!

Exiled #1

Two more reviews from two books that I'm expecting big things from. Basically, if either of the comics I review tonight score under an 8, I'd consider that a disappointment.

Exiled #1:

Summary: This is gonna be a tough one to get through... Okay, the New Mutants have a neighbor named Zig who has been spying on them since he could sense they weren't quite right. Meanwhile, the Desir escape from Mephisto's Hell, which leads to Mephisto telling Loki, who tells Thor, who tells the Warriors Three. Loki also tells Leah, who tells Hela, who tells... you get the picture. Anyway, Dani confronts Zig about his spying, at which time he reveals that he was actually named Sigurd The Ever-Glorious... Nope, I haven't the slightest who that is... The Desir choose that moment to attack, and are soon confronted by Hela and her forces, as well as Loki and Thor and their forces. Sigurd reads a scroll and all of the Asgardians, as well as the Desir, vanish. This issue ends with the Asgardians seemingly merged together with no knowledge of who they were... I think...

Thoughts: What the HELL was THAT?! Seriously, I have NO idea what I just read! I thought this was an AvX tie-in, but after reading it, it obviously isn't... So does that mean the New Mutants won't be taking part in the AvX festivities? Because that kind of sucks... As for the story here, I've got nothin'. I think/guess Sigurd was attacked by the Desir back in the day, and he's taking his revenge on them... But yeah, this story was a) all over the place and b) not very good. This was a huge disappointment...

Score: 3 out of 10.

What the hell is going on here...